Feature Pack: Regular Expressions
By Lowter Staff on the 4th of July 2005
Skip to the Table of ContentsRegular Expressions, also referred to as Regex, are strings using specific syntax in order to match certain chunks of text. Regular Expressions were first featured in the Unix shell. They are implemented in most programming languages allowing for powerful string matching.
Learning Regular Expression Syntax
The first steps to learning how to use regular expressions are learning the proper syntax and the many operators. It is also useful to learn the history and general information about regular expressions.
- Regular-Expressions.info (external link)
- Regular Expressions (external link)
- WikiPedia: Regular Expressions (external link)
- Learning to Use Regular Expressions (external link)
- Unix Regular Expressions (external link)
- Regular Expressions (external link)
- Learning to Use Regular Expressions by Example (external link)
- Regular Expressions (external link)
- Google Directory: Regular Expressions (external link)
- 12 Reasons to Learn and Use Regular Expressions (external link)
- An Introduction to Regular Expressions (external link)
- Syntax and Semantics of Regular Expressions (external link)
What are the uses of regular expressions?
There are many uses for regular expressions, technically any type of pattern. Some examples are credit card validation, BBCode, and form validation. With the variety of programming languages supporting Perl style regular expressions there are tons of scenarios requiring regular expressions.
Using Regular Expressions in Programming Languages
Regular expressions have been implemented into most programming languages. They were first made popular, for programming languages, in Perl. Later the feature was implemented into other languages, such as PHP. Most programming languages implement a Perl style regular expression engine.
PHP
- Using Regular Expressions in PHP (external link)
- PHP Provides Two Sets of Regular Expression Functions (external link)
- PHP Manual: preg_replace() (external link)
- PHP Manual: ereg_replace() (external link)
- Regular Expressions Tutorial (external link)
- PHP and Regular Expressions 101 (external link)
- Regular Expressions (external link)
- Mastering Regular Expressions In PHP (external link)
Perl
- Perl's Rich Support for Regular Expressions (external link)
- Regular Expression Metacharacters in Perl (external link)
- PERL Regular Expressions (external link)
- Perl Regular Expressions (external link)
- Perl Regex (external link)
- How To Use Regular Expressions In Perl And PHP (external link)
JavaScript
- Using Regular Expressions with JavaScript and ECMAScript (external link)
- Programmer's Guide to Regular Expressions (external link)
- Regular Expressions in JavaScript (external link)
- JavaScript Regular Expressions (external link)
- Introductory Guide to Regular Expressions (external link)
- Regular Expressions Methods and Usage (external link)
Java
- Regular Expressions and the Java Programming Language (external link)
- The Java Regex API Explained (external link)
- Using Regular Expressions in Java (external link)
- Regular Expressions in Java (external link)
Python
- Regular Expression How To (external link)
- Python re Module (external link)
- Easily Use Regular Expressions in Your Python Scripts (external link)
.Net
- Knowdotnet.com Regular Expression Articles (external link)
- Introduction to Regular Expressions in Visual Basic (external link)
- Regular Expressions in .NET (external link)
- Using Regular Expressions in ASP.NET (external link)
Print References on Regular Expressions
Books
- Regular Expression Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach (external link)
- Mastering Regular Expressions (external link)
- Understanding and Using Regular Expressions in Java (external link)
- Beginning Regular Expressions (external link)
- Regular Expression Recipes for Windows Developers: A Problem-Solution Approach (external link)
- Visual Basic .NET Text Manipulation Handbook: String Handling and Regular Expressions (external link)
- Regular Expressions with .NET (external link)
- Java Regular Expressions: Taming the java.util.regex Engine (external link)
